The move was spurred in part by
copyright law, which, because of the group's use of samples,
prevented sale of some their albums on iTunes.

"It's about allowing our fans who
have been looking and trying to get a hold of our music to have
access to it," De La Soul member Posdnuos told Rolling Stone.
"It's been too long where our fans haven't had access to
everything. This is our way of showing them how much we love them."

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"We've been blessed to be in the
Library of Congress, but we can't even have our music on iTunes,"
he added. "We've been working very hard to get that solved."

All seven of De La Soul's studio albums
will be released, plus a live album and several EPs. And the group
plans to release their eighth album, You're Welcome, by this summer.